57 soldiers rescued after being kidnapped in southwest Colombia

BOGOTA: The Colombian army and police rescued 57 soldiers held for two days in a mountainous southwestern region that is under pressure from leftist guerrillas, the military said on X on Monday.

The troops were detained near the village of El Plateado in Cauca province, a strategic area for drug trafficking where security forces launched an operation in October 2024 to expel illegal armed groups.

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The region is a stronghold of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal. Authorities accuse the group of recruiting minors and pressuring civilians to resist the presence of state forces.